Fettucine Carbonara

Fettucine Carbonara is a classic pasta preparation, as simple in preparation as it is elegant to behold; as much fun to make as it is delicious to tuck into.

A good carbonara should be made in 3 parts: getting the pasta just right, the right consistency & flavour in the sauce and ensuring the bacon, shallots & onions are stir fried just so. Its essential that all 3 parts are cooked separately and put together just before being served to your delighted guests. Almost anyone who can find their way around a basic kitchen can cook this dish - whether its a fancy, candlelit dinner for that someone special, a good old binge with many hungry stomachs or a stress free, success-guaranteed dinner for a night of the big game.

The key, as with cooking most things that border along what people would call "something fancy'', is the ingredients & getting them right. For a good Fettucine Carbonara we need the following:

• Fettucine (in case you didn't know that already) Oh and please don't try to compromise on this by using tagliatelle because it looks similar or penne because that's the first thing you saw
  
• 4 Shallots chopped fine (ok in case you're unable to find shallots make do with white onions. Shallots are prefered because they give your pasta just the right flavouring without making it too pungent and killing the sauce)
  
• One small onion chopped fine
• 4 garlic cloves chopped fine
• Olive Oil (don't ask me how much...olive oil is one of the world's greatest discoveries...one can never have enough at home)
  
• Capers (that's right...capers. You'll have to hunt for them but it won't taste the same without 'em)
  
• 500 gms Bacon strips cut into bite size pieces
• 4 egg yolks, 1 big bowl of Parmesan cheese grated fine & 1 cup fresh cream all beaten together to form a nice, thick sauce. Throw in some garlic & a hint of basil & capers for flavour. Some olive oil & salt to taste

Ok so now three easy steps toward a great pasta:

• Put the fettucine to boil in pre heated water that's been combined with a generous amount of olive oil & salt - that should take about 15 mins max. to cook
  
• Put a skillet on high flame, throw in a generous amount of olive oil and when you see the smoke rising from your pan, throw in the shallots, onions & garlic along with some chilli flakes, salt & oregano. Keep stirring till the shallots begin to turn golden
• Now throw in some more oil & the bacon strips. Make sure there is enough oil for the bacon to sizzle nicely. Cook the bacon till its nice & crispy. Be patient here. There's plenty of moisture in the bacon so you have to stand guard over the pan for a bit
• Once the bacon, shallots & onions are nice & crispy, switch off the heat
• Gently heat the sauce you have already made...stirring to remove any lumps only till its warm. Don't overheat...remember you have fresh cream in there!
  

To Serve:

• I like doing this fancy...so separate servings for each person who wants some of this delicious fettucine
• Dole out a (what is by your standards) normal serving of pasta in a bowl
• Combine with the fried bacon & shallots and mix well
• Add the sauce generously and mix well - garnish with capers, some basil & chilli flakes if you like it spicey
• If you want a bit of panache thrown in, serve some steamed runner beans, brussel sprouts or asparagus with the pasta
• A little bread with garlic butter never hurt anyone right so have a portion of that waiting on the table
• A nice white wine would obviously add to the experience but that's your call

That's it. Simple, quick & elegant - Fettucine Carbonara as the World Café would do it!